Situated at the end of the King Street shopping mecca is a darling eco friendly kids shop called…read moreEarth Kid. It opened back in 2008 and is dedicated to providing Sydneysiders' little ones with toys, clothing and health products that are organic, recycled, sustainable and just all-around better for our environment. You won't see any plastic in here. instead, toys and products are made from wood, wool, felt and cotton. I was instantly drawn to the woolen, felted finger puppets and toys to the right of the shop's entrance. There were even large tic-tac-toe boards constructed from this same safe material. On the opposite end of the store is the children's fashion. Many clothing items are made out of organic cotton, yet much of the clothing is up-cycled and second hand. This is all in an effort to "help reduce landfill," the shop owner told me. Lastly, the back of Earth Kid contains toys and children's furniture made out of sustainable plantation woods. Brightly painted dinosaur puzzles and stacking blocks would easily fall into your little one's frequent rotation. Now that's something parents can feel good about.

THis shop is run by the most wonderful woman, who stocks divine products. Buying anything from…read morethere makes you feel good about the world! I recommend the experience. We bought a crocodile and cheeky monkey puppet set, and then were donated other puppets for our playgroup. The felt puppets have lasted beautifully, the kids have loved the experience, and we are so grateful!

Need some new undies? While target and K-mart do cheap Bonds gear and other brands of underwear,…read morethis place has a bigger range, and the prices are cheap. Not drastically cheap, but cheaper than Myer. Depending on what you are after, sale stock will be quite reasonably priced. There is also a big range of bra's which is something that definitely don't come cheap anywhere else but here. I was lucky and found the exact type that I wear on sale here. I went back a few months later and they had a whole different range in, I suppose that's the way it goes with factory outlets. There is a full range of women's, men's and kid's underwear and some pyjamas, as well as sports clothes and tracksuits. Brands include Bonds, Berlei, Jockey, Holeproof, Slazenger and Everlast.

All the dresses here are $39…read more All the skirts are $29. Guys clothes are cheap as well. The dresses are unique (pretty sure no one is going to be walking around in the same thing), cut beautifully and recycled from what would have been beautiful dresses in the first place. Similar to the recycled Japanese dress stall at Glebe markets, and with a bit of a Cream on King St vibe, all the dresses sit really well, but are definitely tailored to slightly smaller frames. I think this shop is fairly new, otherwise my wardrobe would have been filled with its dresses long ago. I came in here whilst waiting for a take away coffee from Black Star (next door) and ended up going home with two dresses and a skirt. And a handbag. And my coffee. Worth a visit - the clothes here are cheap and pretty vintage gems.

Cheap, unique and pretty are the adjectives I'd use to describe this little clothes shop in…read moreNewtown. They have a range of dresses with lovely patterns, bags embroidered with sequins and patches of material, skirts and other such things. They also have a whole rack of miniature versions of their clothes for children - just looking at them made me broody. They were so sweet! It is similar to many of the other clothes shops that line King Street in Newtown, and it's well worth a look in if you need some new summer dresses.

Maple is located in an old bank looking building, easy to miss if you're not eyeballing every store…read moreyou walk by. But eyeball you must because unlike the other clothing stores in Newtown that mostly stock generic cheaper clothes, Maple has some brand names that most of the kids are craving these days. The store is both men's and women's, divided equally by an extensive centre row of jeans. Nudie, Lee, Levis, Cheap Monday and Neuw are just some of the denim brands you will find here. Come in and dress yourself up in something by Bassike, Something Else or Rittenhouse. And then complete the look with jewellery from Elke Kramer or Katsi. If your boyfriend ain't got his fashion skills down pat yet, a gentle push into the direction of Maple will have him dressing like a model from a magazine in no time.

Cute selection of men's and women's jeans and tops and jackets. You can find Nudie, Levi's and a…read morefew other name brands for jeans. They also have nice accessories (socks, jewelry, etc.). Whoever the buyer is for this shop has a good eye for fashion. It's not too trendy, and it is all pretty high quality without being absurdly expensive. I mostly shop here with my son, who is a young adult, and he can nearly always find something cool that not every other college-age kid is going to be wearing. Look out for their sales, which are great. I love a good bargain.

I like Nina and Risa because it's full of things you haven't seen at every other clone shop in…read moreSydney. They have patchwork loose fitting pants and skirts that are very Janis Joplin, but in a newer, Thai'er way. Yep, this shop is full of Thai handicraft imports. That means there's a good balance of figurines and toys that are both cute and atrociously tacky at the same time. There are a lot of cat sculptures with long, skinny pins for necks. I enjoyed the kid's cotton t-shirts with animals that pop out e.g. a printed elephant with floppy ears. If you're in the market for some silver jewelry, the designs are intricate and the prices are low. Come to think of it, the prices are low on everything. Much of the clothing was 15% off on the day I stopped in.

Stocking a range of Thai Handicrafts from the tacky to the elegant, Nina and Risa is a bit of a…read morelovable hodgpodge. There's some gorgeous silver Muco jewellery - earrings of tiny handmade flowers balanced on long, thin wires - and some horrible ceramic animal-headed things. No, no idea. The clothes are the same, from dreadful hippy-reject stuff to simple cotton pieces. I did spy a lovely Hmong-fabric bag, there were toys and a rack of $10 silk scarves at the front. The staff were all smiles and so was I, despite the appalling Barbara-Streisand-terminally-ill warbling on the stereo.

This Bon Doi store on King St has an offshoot store on Australia St which sells recycled and…read morere-designed clothing at fantastic prices. Whilst Bon Doi Crafts from the Orient also sells these sweet $39 dresses, re-designed using beautiful Japanese vintage material, they also boast a range of crafts from the Orient (really, the name says it all). The shop also stocks a wide range of colourful Sapa inspired skirts, jackets, hats and bags, including adorable kids booties and bonnets. These clothes are beautiful - I remember walking through the markets in Sapa, Vietnam being overwhelmed by the colours and intricate designs of their heavy clothes, gushing over the babies clothed head to toe in the traditional dress and leaving the markets with three Sapa-style bags and two Sapa-style blankets. The comparatively higher prices of the clothes here meant that this time I didn't leave with bags full of clothes and blankets. Although I still smiled at the idea of dressing a baby head to toe here and thus I have no doubt that this will happen one day soon. Bon Doi Crafts from the Orient also sell a bunch of cutesy crafts/toys, my favourite being pockets of felt monkeys and wall hangings with row of owls perched on a twig. You know, those useless things that you find yourself loving and needing.